August 10
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PSALM 10 A PRAYER TO DELIVER THE HELPLESS FROM THE WICKED
6 He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved; throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.” 7 His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.8 He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he murders the innocent. His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless; 9 he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket; he lurks that he may seize the poor; he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net. 10 The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by his might. 11 He says in his heart, “God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it.” 12 Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up your hand; forget not the afflicted.13 Why does the wicked renounce God
and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”? 14 But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation, that you may take it into your hands; to you the helpless commits himself; you have been the helper of the fatherless. 15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call his wickedness to account till you find none. 16 The LORD is king forever and ever; the nations perish from his land. 17 O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear 18 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.
– Psalm 10:6-18
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A poem inspired by this psalm by ILMA
The wicked plot all kinds of mischief against the righteous
They curse and oppress them in their innocence and weakness
The evildoers stealthily watch and prey on them
He lurks like a lion ready to devour his found victim
O Lord, please do not forget these people who are helpless
In your steadfast love, you will never let the vulnerable perish
O Lord, hear the cries of the afflicted; incline your ear to them
You are a just God, do justice to the oppressed and fatherless
Please strengthen their hearts and deliver them from the wicked
Do not let the unrighteous get away with their schemes to strike terror
Keep your people out of their evil tactics and plots to make them fearful
O Lord, you are our refuge, our fortress, our strength and our vindicator
Keep us away from the haughty, the arrogant and all the manipulators.
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REFLECTION
• How to do we protect ourselves from the evil schemes of the wicked?